EccoPro: Why has nobody developed a clone so far?

Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Aug 28, 2007 at 07:08 PM

I suspect if we were to poll everyone on this forum, we’d get a lot of different answers as to what constitutes the Holy Grail of outliners. My definition is based on functionality. For me the Holy Grail would be software that allowed me to manage the entire process of writing anything from start to finish—finish being the export to Word to put the fancy formatting touches on the manuscript. To do this, it would require the following functions:

1. Nimble outlining capability… preferably in a single pane.
2. Full-featured word processor so that actual composition would not be hindered by sluggish editing controls.
3. Easy capture of content from other sources.
4. Sophisticated data categorization to organize, and slicing and dicing of my information.
5. Powerful search to locate information quickly.

What is not included in my idea of the Holy Grail of outliners is contact or calendar management.

Two currently developed pieces of software come somewhat close to meeting my definition of the HG: ndexCards (is this the HG you’re talking about, Stephen?) and IdeaMason. That neither of these programs thrills me is due to their clumsy interfaces. I like IdeaMason—own a license for it—but I find it clunky and slow, probably due to its use of the .NET Framework technology.

Which just goes to show that it isn’t just what’s under the hood that matters, it is also how the steering wheel feels in your hands and whether or not you can reach the pedals with you feet!

Steve Z.